Apple iOS 18 public beta 3 adds satisfying 'Thanos snap' to hide distractions in Safari

Ever wish you could just snap away an annoying ad on a web page just like Thanos snapped away half of the universe? Well, now you can, courtesy of a new feature in Safari on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

On Tuesday, Apple kicked off the third version of its public beta for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia. With this latest update comes a cool new feature that lets you hide unwanted elements on a web page. Unofficially known as the Thanos snap but officially known as Distraction Control, the option is easily accessible from the Safari address bar. Here's how it works.

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Let's say you're browsing a web page that shoves an ad, a video, or another annoying item in your face. Just tap the Safari Address Bar icon. A menu pops up with an option to "Hide Distracting Items." Just tap that option. Back at the web page, tap the element you want to remove and then tap Hide. That item fades away just like your favorite Marvel hero in Avengers: Infinity War.

You can select additional elements to remove one after another. When you're finished, tap Done. You're now able to browse the page without those distracting elements.

If you want to bring back the items you removed, tap the same Address Bar icon. This time, select the option to "Show Hidden Items," and the hidden elements reappear. Yep, just like your favorite heroes were brought back in Avengers: Endgame.

And there's more awaiting you with the third public beta for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia.

Apple has refined the Photos app based on user feedback. First, the company has jettisoned the carousel feature that let you swipe left and right to move from your library to various collections. Since you can just as easily swipe down the screen to view all the collections, the carousel was redundant and unnecessary.

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Second, you can now view more of your library in the top half of the screen. Third, the Albums collection now appears toward the top of the Collections screen for quicker and easier access.

Apple's redesign of the Photos app triggered some complaints, so it's good to see the company tweaking the app based on feedback from beta users.

Finally, you can more easily edit your Home screen. Just press down on any empty area of the screen and tap Edit. A menu pops up with options to add a widget, customize the appearance and size of the icons, and edit each of your Home screens.

To download and install the public beta for iOS 18, just follow the steps in this article. Apple has been diligent about releasing new betas for its various operating systems, both for developers and for the public. The final release of each respective OS is expected to arrive sometime in September.